Even before she left Grange Road, Timperley for Cornwall when she was seven, Victoria Walker, who has won the UK Wedding Awards 2017, used to play with her mum’s Kodak 110 camera.

But the 33-yar-old former pupil of Heyes Lane Infant School has come a long way since then.

She became interested in photography at the age of 17 after studying music for three years.

“I swapped my saxophone for my dad’s old Pentax 35 mm film camera and used it on my first adventure to Australia, New Zealand and the Cook islands.”

Back home, she took a Higher National Diploma in Photography and Digital Media, gaining a distinction so she set up her first photography business in St Ives.

“For the past 13 years I have worked for the UK Pro Surf tour, international surf companies and magazines in the UK and world wide.”

She became interested in wedding photography by accident. “I fell into it after photographing a friend’s wedding. It was a whole new challenge and I enjoyed it.

She remembers a funny incident at one wedding.

“The theme was a winter wonderland. There were lots of candles including pillar candles where the registrars were standing.

"The music started up and the bride was preparing to walk down the aisle. Then the registrar accidentally knocked one of the candles over. All the others followed in suit falling down like dominoes. There was wax everywhere. The registrar’s skirt was smoking. So the ceremony was delayed!”

Over two hundred photographers entered the competition which was judged by You and Your wedding magazine and Hitched.co.uk.

Victoria said: “I also love underwater photography and have just returned from photographing and swimming with humpback whales in Tonga.

Examples of Victoria’s work can be found at victoriawalkerphotography.co.uk.